Hospitality to Guests, especially to travelers seeking food and rest, is a traditional virtue from ancient times. Abraham was exemplary in his hospitality to strangers, three of whom turned out to be angels.
Father Moon describes the custom in his parent’s home, where hospitality to strangers was a rule firmly enforced by his father. The best families create such a loving atmosphere in their homes that it attracts people and even animals from miles around.
Even families of little means should give their best hospitality to guests regardless of the hardship it might cause them; this is illustrated by three texts lauding exemplary hospitality in extremis, by Lot who defended his guests against molestation by the people of Sodom, by a companion of Muhammad who gave his last morsel to a guest of the Prophet, and by a Hindu householder who preferred to die of thirst rather than withhold drink from a thirsty stranger.
Sun Myung Moon
Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Hebrews 13.1
See to it that whoever enters your house obtains something to eat, however little you may have. Such food will be a source of death to you if you withhold it. A Winnebago Father’s Precepts (Native American Religions)
Let him who believes in Allah and the Last Day be generous to his neighbor, and let him who believes in Allah and the Last Day be generous to his guest. Forty Hadith of an-Nawawi 15 (Islam)
The husband and wife of the house should not turn away any who comes at eating time and asks for food. If food is not available, a place to rest, water for refreshing one’s, a reed mat to lay one’s on, and pleasing words entertaining the guest—these at least never fail in the houses of the good. Apastamba Dharma Sutra 8.2 (Hinduism)
The two… came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and bowed himself with his face to the earth, and said, “My lords, turn aside, I pray you, to your servant’s house and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise up early and go on your way.” They said, “No; we will spend the night in the street.” But he urged them strongly; so they turned aside to him and entered his house; and he made them a feast, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house; and they called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them.” Lot went out of the door to the men, shut the door after him, and said, “I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly. Behold, I have two daughters who have not known man; let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please; only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof.” Genesis 19.1-8
A man came to find the Prophet and the latter asked his wives for something to give him to eat. “We have absolutely nothing,” they replied, “except water.” “Who wants to share his meal with this man?” asked the Prophet. A man of the Companions then said, “I.” Then he led this man to his wife and said to her, “Treat generously the guest of the Messenger of God.” She replied, “We have nothing except our children’s supper.” “Oh, well,” he replied, “get your meal ready, light your lamp, and when your children want supper, put them to bed.” So the woman prepared the meal, lit the lamp, put the children to bed, then, getting up as if to trim the lamp, she extinguished it. The Companion and his wife then made as if to eat, but in fact they spent the night with empty stomachs. The next day when the Companion went to find the Messenger of God, the latter said to him, “This night God smiled.” It was then that God revealed these words, “and they prefer the oth- ers before themselves, although there be indigence among them” [Qur’an 59.9]. Hadith of Bukhari (Islam)
The fame of Rantideva is sung in this and the other world, Rantideva, who, though himself hungry, was in the habit of giving away his wealth as it came, while trusting in God to provide his needs. Even in times of famine, Rantideva continued his generosity though his family was reduced to poverty. For forty-eight days he and his family were starving; a little liquid, and that was enough for only one, was all that remained. As he was about to drink it, an out caste came begging for water. Rantideva was moved at the sight and said, “I do not desire from God the great state attended by divine powers or even deliverance from rebirth. Establishing myself in the hearts of all beings, I take on myself their suffering so that they may be rid of their misery.” So saying, the compassionate king gave that little liquid to the outcaste, though he himself was dying of thirst. Srimad Bhagavatam 9 (Hinduism)
Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
A household that is always prepared to welcome noble guests will receive blessings. (100:259, October 22, 1978)
Treat people who come to visit you as kings. Serve them as kings and attend them like kings. (89:290, December 4, 1976)
Make hospitality to friends and visitors your family custom. Care for them so well that they say, “Your house is better than mine. This meal is more delicious than the food at my house. Can I stay here one more night?”
When you make your house a place where every guest or friend wants to come and stay, even ignoring their own families, you have the Kingdom of Heaven in your family. (16:328, July 31, 1966)
The more people you invite into your home to eat and sleep there, whether they stay in a guest room or in the attic, the more blessed your family will be. The time will come when families will compete in the practice of hospitality.
Families will want to become famous for hosting guests from the neighborhood, the county, from around the nation, and from overseas. People do not practice hospitality because they are materially wealthy; they practice hospitality because they are wealthy in heart and love. There is happiness in hosting others, even though you may be eating hard bread. (244:49, January 29, 1993)
Your home should be a place where passing beggars want to sleep or even lean against your doorstep to take shelter from the cold. Even the neighborhood dogs want to lie down there, and birds want to take shelter.
There should be bird droppings on your doorstep from the birds that nest in your eaves. When you make your home like that, you will flourish and God will be with you. Why? Because the place where God’s love dwells attracts all living things; it is a place of peaceful Sabbath rest for all beings. (100:299, October 22, 1978)
My family had a tradition: Nobody passing by our house left with an empty stomach. Our home was widely known to every beggar in the district; they all visited and received our hospitality.
When my mother served our grandparents their dinner, she also served the beggars. [It was a heavy physical ordeal for my mother. Yet on one occasion when she neglected to feed a beggar, my father took his own meal and gave it to him. Thenceforth my mother had to feed the beggars or else my father would go hungry.]
I am grateful to my mother, who did not complain though she labored to feed these strangers. It became a motive for a person like me to lead a movement to feed the world. (130:276, February 5, 1984)
All the beggars who lived in or near our district used to visit our house. Our house was like a meeting place for beggars. There were always a few of them sleeping in the guest room.
There was an old mill in our village where beggars would congregate. I made friends with many of them. When our family made rice cakes, I always took pity on them and brought them some.
When a beggar left our house in the morning, I thought, “Who will give them lunch?” Since there was no one, I often fed them. Without asking my mother for anything, I took the food she had set aside for my lunch and shared it with the beggars. It was a good deed. Thinking about it now, I think I did well. (127:111, May 5, 1983)
Sun Myung Moon